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Thursday, April 30, 2015

Of Coffee Cakes and Orphan Trains | Writing Update

I am always a little hesitant to publicly update my
"WIC" (works in progress) because I know my past of unfinished
projects. But, trusting in the Lord's direction in guiding me, here's a glimpse
of what has been going on in my writing journal.

Coffee Cake Days

The idea for this new short story came one morning when I
had gotten up early, spent quiet time, and then was preparing breakfast. Out of
all of the short stories that I have currently written, it is probably the most
auto-biographical. Meg, a homeschool graduate, is learning many of the lessons
that I learned (amidst many struggles!) in balancing time with God and time
with her family. The main lesson that Jesus has seemed to bring to my life over
and over is servanthood. It's easy to read the Bible and agree with its
teachings -- but am I applying it to my daily life?

Here's an excerpt from "Coffee Cake Days":

"Read to me!"
Crystal was back in the room, this time with a book in her hands.

"Okay, okay!" Meg
flipped her legs over the edge of the bed and jumped to the ground. She let
Crystal trail behind her as she hurried to the living room and sat on the
couch.

"But I wan' 'nother
un." Crystal held out the book she had selected with a small pout.

"Well choose one but be
quick about it."

Crystal squatted by the
bookshelf and flipped through the books. When she stood up and turned around,
an impish grin lit her face. "Ac'ally, I wan' four." True to her
word, she had selected four books.

"I said one, so it's
going to be one," Meg said firmly.

The toddler looked down at
her selection, her mind in debate before selecting her favorite and bounding
back to Meg. Nestling beside her, Crystal put a chubby arm around Meg's back as
Meg began to read.

That night in bed, Meg
stared at the dark wall. Today had been hard to keep her goal of twenty
chapters, but she had done it. She should feel satisfied, but instead, a
frustrating bubble welled inside of her. Lord,
what is it? What am I doing wrong? I'm trying to draw close to you but ever
since graduation it seems like a failure. Please, Father, show me what You
would have me to do.

Journey to Love

I am praying about doing a novella series called Orphan Journeys - what links together
the orphans in all of the novellas is that they travelled the American orphan
train at one point in history (historical tidbit: there was also an
"orphan train" that brought children from London and Liverpool,
England, to Canada). My first novella is Journey
to Love (if the Lord allows, I also have plans for Journey of Choice and Journey
of Redemption - plus a few others floating around). Main character Marie
has become a part of the Bowles household in body, but she's not so sure about
being the child they had always prayed for.

First two paragraphs:

Marie glanced down the row
of children, and a shiver slipped up her spine. She took a slow, deep breath as
she turned back to Mrs. Rawson. Look
pleasant, Mrs. Rawson had said - was her pasted smile supposed to be their
example? Marie pressed her lips into a small pucker as Mrs. Rawson attempted to
give the final admonition before the crowd was admitted into the room.

The close eye of Mrs. Rawson
urged Marie to answer the questions and examinations of the couples that
crowded around her. According to Mrs. Rawson, who wouldn't want her? A sturdy
thirteen-year-old with a back and mind to work. Or were they looking for a boy?
Marie glanced sideways at the long line of boys - some bordering into manhood.
The crowd was decidedly thicker there.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I work on these
two projects. Recently, writing time has been very limited as my family and I
continue working on our house (you can see updates at my family's blog:
www.terofamilyministries.com). I'm not concerned about getting these projects
done quickly, but I am concerned that
in writing these, I am sensitive to the Lord's leading and what He would have
me to write.